Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Kien Svay and around
Optimistically hailed by some locals as “the new Kep”,
KIEN SVAY
(or Koki Beach, as it's
also known), 15km southeast of Phnom Penh, is really more of a muddy riverbank.
That said, it positively throngs at weekends with people venturing out from Phnom
Penh to picnic at the rows of stilt-huts on the banks of the Mekong. Hawkers and food
stalls sell all kinds of food, which you can eat while lazing around your hut (rented for
around 5000 for a few hours). The village is particularly noted for its crispy
fried bugs
- different sorts of beetle, cricket, silkworm and a variety of pupas - while small boats
ply the river with fish and lobsters for sale, cooking your chosen specimen for you on
their on-board braziers.
The villages around Kien Svay are well known for their
weaving
, traditionally done
by the women, though more men are joining in; silk and mixed-thread scarves and
kramas
are produced here for the markets in Phnom Penh.
1
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
KIEN SVAY
By moto or tuk-tuk
Stay on NR1 until, 14km after the
Monivong Bridge, you pass the
L'Imprevu
resort; the
turning for the beach is 1km beyond, to the left (north),
through an ornate portico that looks like a pagoda gateway
lined with food vendors. Expect to pay around $6 for a
return moto, or $12 by tuk-tuk.
By bus
You could take a direct bus from Psar Thmei to Kien
Svay or a service to Psar Koki, the town market, followed by
a moto for the remaining 0.5km ride to the beach.
Phnom Prasith
24km northwest of Phnom Penh • Take NR5 north for 11km to Prek Pneuv Market, then take a left onto an unsealed road and continue for
13km to the site (a moto should cost $8-12 return, tuk-tuk $15-20)
The complex of pagodas at
Phnom Prasith
, spread over a distance of about 5km,
originally comprised just two hilltop sites (the “East Hill” and the “West Hill”), but
now sprawls over four locations. The monks and nuns here hope to develop the site to
Angkorian proportions; the seemingly never-ending programme of construction
includes a futuristic glass-domed edifice. As the building of new sanctuaries is seen as
gaining particular merit, it's not unusual for wealthy patrons to make sizeable financial
contributions.
Wat Phnom Reap
The most popular of the four sites is
Wat Phnom Reap
, reached through a Bayon-style
gateway of enormous faces flanked by elephants. The track is lined with asuras and
devas tugging on two nagas,
there to protect the city's wealth in an impressive attempt
at re-creating the southern gate of Angkor Thom in Siem Reap. Dominating the
compound is the amazing carmine-red concrete reproduction of Angkor Wat,
Prasat
Mahar Nokor Vitmean Sooer
; it was completed in 1998, after just two years' work. A
colonnaded gallery runs around the outside, sheltering elaborately decorated walls;
apsaras nestle in niches, while bas-reliefs illustrate scenes from the life of Buddha and
commemorate the construction of the temple by depicting the people who donated
either money or labour.
In the same complex, the entrance to
Prasat Pik Vongkot Boreay Brom Mlop
is guarded
by two imposing statues of Hanuman, each standing on one leg with sword raised.
Inside, an enormous seated Buddha dominates the hall; behind it and curling around
it, a cheerful mural of the bodhi tree is dotted with birds and animals.
East Hill Buddha
A few kilometres up the road beyond Wat Phnom Reap, on the first hill you come
to, is the
East Hill Buddha
, a much-restored, 15m-long reclining Buddha carved out
of the hillside. It's reputedly quite ancient and may conceivably be the only
surviving part of the sixth-century pre-Angkorian ruins known to have been here.
